Historically, women's clothing styles have fluctuated dramatically over the years. Throughout the ages, for different sociological and cultural reasons, women have either emphasized or de-emphasized their chests. For example, the Minoan women who lived on the Isle of Crete in about 2500 B.C., actually wore bra-like contraptions which lifted their bare breasts out of their clothes. Just a few centuries later, Roman women tightly bound their chests with bands of cloth in order to reduce their breast size.
Despite the continuous variations in apparel styes, the bra as we recognize it today is a relatively recent addition to the feminine wardrobe. Before the early 1900s, if women wore any type of foundation garment at all, they either bound their chests or wore a chemise (a loose slip-like undershirt). As another alternative, if the style called for a more defined figure, women tightly laced themselves into corsets. The corset encased a woman from about her clavicles to her hips. Thin strips of whale bone ensured that the woman's contours were confined to fashionably acceptable dimensions. However, the corsets were extremely uncomfortable and considerably restricted a woman's movement, even reducing her ability to breathe deeply.
As outerwear styles began changing at the turn of the century, so did foundation garments. A new vogue for sheer romantic evening gowns became haute couture. Chemises and corsets were too bulky and unsightly to wear underneath the modern diaphanous style gowns. In addition, women's blouses were introduced as an acceptable form of fashionable casual dress. Blouses, which did not inhibit a woman's movement as much as previous fashion styles, allowed a woman to become more active, both at work and in recreational pursuits. Chemises and corsets were too binding and restricted a woman's freedom of movement, negating all the advantages of the new blouses.
As a result, bras which were not as cumbersome or restrictive as corsets yet still emphasized the female chest, were developed and began to become popular foundation garments in the early 1900s.
Even in the relatively few decades that bras have been available, their style and purpose have fluctuated considerably. For example, the bras developed and worn in the 1920s did not emphasize a woman's breasts. Flappers, as trendy young women of the day were called, wanted to achieve a long, flat silhouette, without any unsightly bulges at the chest level. Thus, bras in the 1920s were very tight and flattened the chest.
Later styles, beginning in the 1930s again emphasized the female chest. Various devices were developed to lift and shape women's breasts into a wide range of fashionably acceptable forms, from high, pointed "bullets" to softly rounded "cups". Many of these devices focused less on comfort than on achieving a fashionably desirable hourglass figure.
In order to shape and support, bras since the 1930s have incorporated all types of materials, no less binding and uncomfortable than the whale bones found in the corsets of a century ago. Thin wires or hard plastics were incorporated into the bra cups in order to force the breast into the currently acceptable shape. Hard, substantially rigid materials were also used to mold the breast into a fashionably accepted form.
Women's clothing fashions continue to evolve, along with their role in society. Presently, although women have achieved greater freedoms in areas such as education, careers and politics, they continue to be uncomfortably bound in bras which painfully force their breasts into fashion-driven shapes using wires and other stiff, unyielding materials.
The bra industry has not kept up with increasing changes in women's fashions and women's expanding role in society. Women are no longer restricted to focusing on one role at a time. That is, women are professionals, athletes and mothers all at the same time. Unfortunately, a single foundation garment is not available to support all these activities. Women have been required to purchase different types of foundation garments, each bra being specifically designed for a particular activity. For example, bras are designed and sold for defining (and sometimes exaggerating) breasts and for providing support for everyday activities. Such bras are usually worn underneath casual clothing, business suits or formal attire. These bras typically support the breast in a cup shape and are considered to increase a woman's attractiveness. Although, these bras contain uncomfortable underwires or other unyielding support structures, they do not provide support for exercising activities.
Other bras have been developed to provide extra support during highly physical activities such as exercising and participation in recreational sports. Typically these bras are made to tightly bind a woman's breasts to her chest so that they do not move during strenuous physical activity. It is important for a woman to have her breasts stabilized during physical activity so that she will have greater freedom of movement and to prevent injury to her breasts, such as by stretching internal collagen support fibers. The so called "sport" bras provide such support. However, because sport bras flatten the breasts to a woman's chest, they are not considered to particularly enhance a woman's appearance and are thus not considered appropriate as foundation garments to be worn underneath clothing such as business suits and formal attire. Additionally, most "sport" bras are designed to stabilize a women's breasts during activities which occur on dry land, such as jogging or aerobics. Such bras are less suitable for use in water sport activities.
In addition, a woman requires a specially designed bra when she is nursing to provide support for the increased breast size of a nursing woman and to allow quick and easy access to her breast without having to completely remove her bra. Typically nursing bras are provided with a detachable cup. The cup of the bra can be separated from the rest of the bra, allowing access to the nipple without removal of the entire bra. This is usually accomplished by providing a cup which is permanently attached only to either the bottom or the side of the bra and providing hook-and-loop or a hook-and-eye closure device on the cup to secure the cup to the bra.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ergonomic foundation garment which is comfortable.
Another object of the invention to provide a foundation garment which supports breasts without the use of underwires or other substantially unyielding structures.
A further object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment which supports a woman's breasts in a gentle yet substantially supportive manner.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment which defines and supports a woman's breasts, which can be worn underneath garments such as casual clothing, business suits and formal attire.
Yet an additional object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment which can be used as a bathing suit top.
Another object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment which stabilizes a woman's breasts, such as during physical activity, without tightly binding the breasts to the chest.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide an improved nursing bra.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment which can be worn for a wide variety of activities.